Shetaye Bekele, resident in Sidama zone, South Nation Nationality and People (SNNP), has been working on various types of jobs including as a domestic servant for many years. When the zone announced a self-employment opportunity for the residents to engage in growing seedling plants and fruits, he made an immediate decision to use it to free himself from the poor living condition as a domestic servant.
He started growing fruits six years ago and currently, he owns more than 15,000 stems of fruits seedling each of which is valued at Birr 15. By selling fruits he is now able to lead a decent life along with his parents, wife and two children. It was only a hope during the previous many years in his mind.
On the other hand, he emulated the experiences of people who had similar life in his previous challenge and including people who have better life to transform his own life.
He noted that, fruits and forests need protection as one’s own children, due to this reason, protecting by fence, watering, and the like play significant role in a sustainable manner.
Gezu Assefa, Zonal Administration Head in Gedeo, SNNP state told The Ethiopian Herald that Gedeo People give a big place for growing and protecting coffee, enset, and forest as whole.
They are also considered as the lifeblood of the people. Community and forests have strong relation that forests enjoy almost equal respect with human beings. Previous generation handed down this culture to protect forests from damage. Due to these reason, community and forests are never seen separately from each other. Without the community participation, it is almost impossible to protect the environment in Gedeo due to the area is highly exposed to grazing.
The topography of the zone is predominantly mountainous and steep slope. This makes it vulnerable to flood. However, thanks to the community’s strong culture protecting forests; the area is green due to growing coffee near any forests, which exists in the places.
In many places across the country it is a fact that deforestation has increased time to time with the increase of peoples demand of wood for the purpose of fire wood, housing, agricultural expansion. But this is not true in Gedeo zone.
People have chosen other alternative like growing eucalyptus tree on marshy land in order to fulfill their interest of building house, firewood and the like. However, indigenous trees are never cut down when they exist in the marsh. In this regard, the community view forests the same as their children. Due to this reason, cutting tress in mountainous area and in a particular indigenous long age trees are strictly forbidden in Gedeo.
People from Arbaminch, Tigray states, and the like recently in order to share experience, and public interest as well as the culture of the people towards forests.
For example Tigray state has also succeeded in its efforts to bring about attitudinal change among the society regarding the need to protect forests. MeuzHailu, Forestry Director with the Bureau told The Ethiopian Herald that forestry coverage of the state increases from two percent to 15 percent by the continuous efforts of protection, rehabilitation and plantation. The continuous effort of the government and the society on protection and rehabilitation boosts the productivity and ecology of the region, Muez said.
“On the past years the regional state invests more on attitudinal change of the society to tackle the badly decreased forest coverage and to rescue the damaged land of the region. It scores good changes and thinking of the society has become cooperative to boost the forest coverage and rehabilitation of damaged land”, the director noted.
And now, the society is investing its resource to protect its natural resource by its own initiatives considering the purposes it got from its experiences, Mezu added.
Murassa Muga, Sidama Zone Environmental Protection and Climate Change Head Office on his part said that people have special attention to plant growing and protection especially in the current day before the previous.
Due to the lack of awareness creation in the societies especially on protection of seedlings perish sometime after transplantation. However, the community are giving special attention on protection as the office has taken awareness raising activities on the community during the past some years. But, it does not mean that a lot remains in the aspect of forests protection, it is rather many significant measures are taken place.
He further stated that, plants were growing during some years ago, particularly, in some parts of the Zone are growing in a better way and covers biodiversity once again.
According to Murassa, his office has planned to grow 140 million seedlings in this fiscal year by motivating the people in order to take afforestation measure in barren lands. Among the total plants 80 percent of them have grown.
In this way, the sector always trains, supervises, inspects, and advocate the society to sensitize them on the significance of the forests. Particularly, in Shebedino woreda more than 350 farmers have become model after the training taken place, and then they are also multiplying seedlings on nursery in their backyard to offer the market so far in order to gain income from it.
Currently, most farmers have 20 up to 60,000 seedlings in their nursery of their backyard. On the other hand, the zone also works closely with non-governmental organization, Hawassa University, and Dilla University to realize environmental protection.
The Ethiopian Herald July 6/2019
BY MESERET BEHAILU
